Improvement in steam-power-brake couplings



E.WESTENGHUSEIL Steam-Power Brake-Gnuplings. N0.136,631. PatentedMarchfi1873.

Tn STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

IMFROVEMENTIN STEAM-POWER-BRAKE cour=1.ui1es.

Specification formingi part of Letters Patent N0. 136,631, dated March 11, 1873.

T0 all whom z't may cmcern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WES'IING- HOUSE, Jr., of Pittsburg, in theeounty 0f Allegheny and State 0f Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefu] Improvement in Stean1Power-Brake Oouplings'; and I do hereby deelare the following to be a full, clear, and exact deseription thereof, reference being had to the aceompanying drawing making pa1l7 0f this specifieation, in which v Figure 1 is an outside view of my i1nproved coupling as nnited in coupling. Fig. 2 is a like view, somewhat; reduced, with the male and female Parts disdonneeted and turned one-quarter way around. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the deviees coupled together; and Eig. 4:, by an enlarged view of the male partillusc'rates a modification of the packing deviees. v

Like letters of r(eference indicate like pa-rts in each.

In tl1e patent grauted to me August 8, 1871, N0. 117 S41, provision is made f0r the reversal Of a car withouo ohanging the relative arrange1nent of the eouplings. 'lhis is done, by branehing the air-brake pipe at 01 near each end 0f the ear, and attaehing a male eoupling 130 one brauch am]. a female eoupling t0 the other, as therein deseribed. i

In my present improvement I .aceomplish the same useful result by making a coupling wherein eaeh half shall have a male and female part to eouple into 01 with the female and male parts of the next copling. With couplings somade there Will be no occasion to brauch the pipes, and the half-coupling 011 either end 0f either ear will couple onto any other half-coupling 011 the train.

'Io enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvement, I will proeeed to describe its eonstruction and mode of operation.

B and B represent the shells, terminating als their outer ende in pipes b b, by which they are conneeted witl1 the flexible pipe 01 l1ose, At their inner ends eaeh one terminates in a nozzle er male part, a, and a socket o1 female parls, c, and he parts are so shaped thal: each nozzle a shall couple neatl y int0 the socketc of the opposite half-conpling. These nozzles a are provided with paeking-rings s and air-holes s, as described in the patent granted to me November 29, 1870, and for the sanne purposes, as also With spring-hooks m engaging 011 beads er shoulders n, and also elamping-rings o. Bat; the devices for packing the joint and holding the tw0 halves together, as well as for uneoupling, may be variedat pleasure. Bat it will be observed that whatever deviees be employed for holding the two halves together they must be duplicated in each half, and arranged opposite each other in each half. Thus the spring-hook m musb in each half be opposite the shoulder 01 catch n in the same half, and also diagonally opposite tl1e springhook of the other half-coupling. Were both springs on one half, and the eatch only on the ooher half, the reversal 0f a ear end for end would render it impossible 170 unite any of the couplings.

In -tzhe drawing I have shown two modifications 0f these deviees. In Figs. 2 and 3 is represented With eaeh spring-D001; m a thumb er band lever g f01 convenience in hooking and unhooking them from the beads or shoulders n. These levers may be sei: in reeesses in the shells B B, er pivot-ed 150 lugs arranged thereon lik e a thumb-latch, 01 otherwise counected als pleasure. Their manner of operaation and their function Will be obvious withoui: furt-her explanation.

The ot-her modification is shown in Fig. 4, which represents the male parl; 01 nozzle a eonsiderably enlarged, bat with the packingring s in section. As an additional means of fcrcing the packing-ring s outward against; the inner wall of the female part er socket; c, I use an elastie metallie spring, i, either 0t' wire as shown, 01 it may be fiats er of other snitable shape. This spring I arrange in a groove, i, under the ring, where its action will be sinnilar to that 0f the metallic packing-rings commonly employed in steam-pistons.

It will now be see n that the two half-complings are counterparts of each other, and that any one half-coupling may be united 1:0 any other half-coupling, so that no difficulty will be experieneed from cars being ehanged end for end. 4

The couplings desoribed may be furnished with any suitable form of valveselfiseating and automatically unseating, o1 otherwise-at;

pleasure; 0x, if no valve is employed, the rear coupling in a train should be closed by a, cap 01 in other suitable way.

What I claim as my invention, und desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A pipe-coupling f0r airsteam, or other fluid bmkes, in which each half is supplied \'\'ibh first, a male and female part; second, a spring-11001;, m, on one side 0f the outer face t0 engage a eateh 011 the corresponding side. of the other half am]. tl1ird, a czttch, n, opposite the spring-110011, on whieh t0 engage the spring-hook of the other half, substantially as set forth.

band.

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, JR

Witnesses:

JOHN H. BAILEY, G. H. HRIS'IY. 

